Monday, December 3, 2018

Charalampos Kydonakis (aka Dirty Harrry) is a photographer based in Crete, Greece. His recent self-published photo book is Warn'd In Vain, "An Argonautica inspired NYC story".

What brought you to New York City? How did you decide where to shoot and explore?

I first went to NYC to visit a friend in 2014 and finally spent about 7 months between 2014-2017. It took me some time to move away from the busy avenues, where I got bored of people looking at their cellphones. Manhattan is the main Metropolis landmark, but Queens, Brooklyn, and Bronx have their own character too. My book's final cut is a mosaic with images from all the above places.

What is your general photomaking process? You walk down the street with your camera...Then what?...

One thing that matters to me is how much time I can devote; nothing has ever come to me in the first 5 minutes somewhere. Maybe after months or years a body of work can be revealed. Or it may not. All I knew when I got to NYC was that my time was limited, so my everyday goal was to stay outside as much as I could. Searching for images seems a bit like an archeological survey; there might be nothing around; there might also be signs or evidence that could lead somewhere. These signs depend on what one is attracted to. A main difference this time compared to other places I've been was alcohol; I often make beer breaks when I'm shooting, but NYC is expensive. I had no money for bars, etc. The Warn'd in vain book has been injected with alcohol grades only during the editing period, not before. Who knows, if the Big Apple was cheaper the book could be more interesting!

Did you have the book and Argonautica theme in mind when you made the photos?

In the beginning I had nothing in my mind but a question; what can be seen inside the world's most photographed city? What is the connection in your mind between ancient Greek myth and contemporary New York?After some time I tried to search for connecting lines between my presence in NYC and what I came across there. Greek mythology gave me some ideas to sequence my thoughts in this place across the ocean; a contemporary Colchis, the city that was considered the end of the ancient world. Gradually I started searching for metaphors that could form something after my time in the city expired.

For someone unfamiliar with the Argonautica storyline, can you briefly summarize it?

Argonautica is an epic poem of Apollonius Rhodius about the glorious and tragic story of Jason. It's a myth of a big adventure about struggle for power, love, betrayal & revenge. There are a few related movies. My favorite ones are Medeaby Paolo Pasolini (1969) and Medea by Lars von Trier (1988).

Was New York what you expected?

I don't know if I discovered where the Golden Fleece was hanging. In other words I don't know what I expected from New York. A good thing is that for the first time I had much free time to search and focus on something. I walked in places I had no idea where I was each time; there were times that some reactions were a bit cliché and expected :

I once got hit for 3-4 minutes by five guys inside a weird neighbourhood near Delancey street... There's no need for someone to risk a lot, but weird places are more interesting than normal ones, aren't they?

How did your experience making photos in New York change your impressions of the city?

Now that I am back in Crete, I think of New York and I miss some great people I met, people I feel are friends now no matter the distance. I think this is finally the most precious thing out of this journey.How did you go about making the book?

After returning to Crete I had to start working again, so I edited the book in the evenings. Some average stats below:

I wasted a lot of time with decisions that someone with more experience probably would make instantly; I went to sleep every night almost sure that I had finished and the next day I saw what I had done and didn't like it at all, so I changed the book on and on till the last day. Now there are still things I would change, but at some moment I had to move on, otherwise I could recycle the same dilemmas forever. My Ayse and some friends helped me a lot, especially Gus Powell, Pavlos Fysakis, Elena Mamoulaki, Adonis Volanakis, Yorgos Yatromanolakis, Engin Güneysu, Giorgis Kapelonis, Natalie Matutschovsky and others. Gölnur Cengiz & Fotoğrafevi in Istanbul encouraged and guided me with the printing process, a field that I had no idea about. The book was funded through a crowd-source campaign and then I printed it in Istanbul with the support of some lovely people (Okan Ulusan , Ilknur Mutlu & 'Kanuni' Suleyman Gördebil) in Bilnet company where some books by Bruno Barbey, Nikos Economopoulos, Ara Guler and others have been printed. In conclusion I wouldn't be able to make this book without the help of my friends.

What are the graphical elements inserted into the chapter breaks?

They 're Greek alphabet fonts I designed and they refer to each chapter of the book. 'WARN'D IN VAIN' has 12 chapters from A - M , a Minotaur inspired future twin book from Crete, named 'BACK TO NOWHERE' will have the N - Ω chapters.

Did the book turn out as expected, or were there surprises along the way?

I had made about 10 photocopy dummies while editing, none of them was exactly as the book turned out in the end. Since it was my first attempt, I think everything along the way was a bit surprising.

What are some of your favorite New York City books by other photographers?Weegee, Naked City

Ken Schles, Nightwalk and Invisible City

Meryl Meisler, A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick and Sassy '70s

Diane Arbus, Revelations

Keizo Kitajima, New York

Gus Powell, The Company Of Strangers

Bruce Davidson, Subway

Jeff Mermelstein, Sidewalk

Andrew Savulich, The City

(All photos above by Charalampos Kydonakis, except book images which were selected by him)

SP: I grew up around photography, darkroom in the house, the whole thing. My dad is a long time and quite accomplished artist/photographer. Somehow I avoided it til much later. I went to art school for painting and the two don't coexist, especially in art school.

What do you mean "the two don't coexist"?

Yes of course they “coexist” I should have said the departments just felt quite separate without much interaction at least from my perspective. I was so focused on painting I’m not even sure I was aware there was a photo department!

Was it a situation as a kid where you didn't want to do what your parents did? Is that why you avoided it when younger?

I don't think so really. I knew pretty early on I wanted to be an artist but I just didn't equate photography with it exactly I suppose. I do recall doing Rayograms. Is that the term placing objects, etc, on photo sensitive material?

Yeah, those are fun. You did those in art school?

At Home.

Nikko, Japan

What does your dad think of your recent photos? Does he follow your Instagram stuff?

He's always been a big supporter of whatever I'm getting up to. He's checked on my Instagram but hasn't kept up. I tried to get him involved but it just didn't click, too small! His main tool is large format studio photography, which doesn't quite translate well on a phone.

The digital divide. What if you show him prints or some other method? Just curious how he'd react from an art/academic perspective. I think your photographic style is unlike what's usually taught in art schools.

Well the IG thing is somewhat recent for me, well a couple of years I guess, but I was for sure focused on making prints and dreaming of making books. But I'd say he thinks I'm a better painter than photographer! And probably wishes I would get back to that instead of music, etc.

What does he think of Sea and Cake's music?

Well I’m not sure how often he really listens to it, but I’m pretty sure he likes it fine. I think he’s most impressed that I’ve eked out a career of doing what I want. He’s always been very supportive of me not getting a real job!

Are you still painting?

It's been a while but admit I feel like I'm gearing up for it again. I make a lot of drawings that I think keep me somewhat limbered up. I also think of my photos as in a away as "fast" paintings. Really fast!

Split second. Drawing has no chance. Let me go back a second to art school. You didn't do any photo studies there?

Yeah, no photo stuff in art school.

Did art school help you with looking? Or was it more focused on thinking?

I'd say my focus was looking first, thinking afterward, which is how I make photographs as well. My paintings work along similar lines, hope something happens that's interesting and that you're in a place to recognize it and not screw it up.

When did you first get into photography?

I started dabbling a bit in designing record covers, but didn't really get into it until on a whim I brought a camera on an early tour, and pretty quickly I fell pretty hard for it. I early on made the connection that in a raw sense, just looking was rewarding work in itself, and the documents became interesting as well.

How do you decide which of your photos to use on album covers?

Well actually I almost never plan on using one of my photos, the exception would be the latest record, but that came about somewhat by accident. While looking through some old 4X6 prints the image I used seemed so just right and that the photo is probably 10 or so years old also contributed a mysteriously detached quality to it even though its subject matter is so familiar to me, but in a transition state, being that it’s a photo of a room that I had just moved into, in a new house at the time, but where I live now. Anyway these are a few of the reasons the image resonated with me so much I think. Also normally I don’t really decide on what an album cover should be until the record's finished. In this case I found the photo and then made the record. It was on my mind during most of the process.

The Sea and Cake, Any Day, 2018 (Thrill Jockey)

What about generally? What are your favorite all-time album covers that use third-party photos?

Oddly not something I’ve really thought about. but one of my least favorite album covers happens to use the Eggleston photo of the dolls on the Cadillac! I think it’s a Big Star or Alex Chilton record.

Did you pursue any training as a photographer?

No training in photography. Years after first getting into it, I then became really interested in the "craft" of making prints in a darkroom. So for five or so years I was focused primarily on black and white work, and teaching myself how to print and process.

Sam Prekop, Photographs2017 (Presspop Gallery Publications)

Those were the photos in your first book.

Yep. So my darkroom work was going well and then I had kids, and had to shut it down!

Because of kids?

Yeah, we needed the extra bathroom and somehow the whole operation seemed just too close to newborns. I now have a separate studio again and have thought about setting something up again, but really I think I'd shoot for getting my painting studio going first.

So the reason you switched to color was purely due to space limitations? Was there some aesthetic reason too?

In retrospect I consider myself a color photographer. I started with color and then the black and white detour occurred. Wanting a darkroom —among many reasons I was not satisfied with the whole scan and inkjet workflow. I wanted"real" prints, and black and white was what I could pull off. Of course I love black and white work. I just don't think my work is as strong in that area.

Do you make prints now of your color work?

Actually I don't make prints all that often any more. I mean, I hope that changes but the right project I guess hasn't presented itself. But when I do I scan and then send them out to be printed on "photo paper"

Well that's a print, isn't it?

Yes, of course, but I used to print a whole lot more. Now it's a somewhat rare occasion.

You're shooting film?

Yeah, film.

I asked before if you'd pursued any photographic training but I'd kinda guessed the answer already. What I like about your photos is they are quite raw and unmanipulated. So whatever you're doing, don't change it. I'm curious if you were looking at other photographers as you developed, or had any outside influence besides your dad. How did you find your style?

St. Louis perhaps?

Well yes, I look at a lot of work. I guess these days it's on IG! So I've gone through several periods of obsession with certain photographers. Like a lot of people Eggleston was pretty big for me. I recall seeing his work before making photographs and being distinctly unimpressed. I think it helps to try making you're own work to really appreciate his genius. Walker Evans, Robert Adams, Atget, many of the usual suspects. I also went through a real German photography period which hasn't held up for me quite well.

What do you like about Eggleston's photos? Do you remember the conversion moment for you, when you went from unimpressed to impressed?

The first Eggleston book I came in contact with was “The Democratic Forest” and I think it’s still my favorite. So I think his work really got to me in book form. I think the sequencing and the color feeling like the subject really spoke to me in a way that a one off photo can’t do. Also the process of having the book and coming back to it again and again only increased the weird fleeting ephemeral quality to the work. And his working statement with regard to a visual democracy, that anything can be a photo has of course been a huge influence on me.

I think Eggleston is an good example of photography being inside baseball. If you don't make photos he can seem obtuse. A bit less generally accessible than music, perhaps? I guess it depends on the specific photos or specific music

I agree, but a bizarre strength of taking a photo is that it's available to anyone. I've always found this fascinating. It's truly democratic, for better or worse. Music takes more effort I'd say on a base level. But because of photography's inherent qualities, it's very difficult to make an interesting picture.

How do you know when you've made an interesting photo?

Well, I never quite feel like I'm "making" it. I like to think I found my better pictures. While I'm out taking photos is not where it's happening, in a way. For me it's quite intuitive, backed with a lot of looking. The ones that get to me jump out with not a lot of effort. Of course I'm not always right!

I'm curious about your process. How do you go about finding photos?

When I'm really on I'll go out daily to take photos. However it's usually en route to do something else, grocery store, kids, school, etc. So it's pretty much in my neighborhood. I rarely go somewhere specific to take photos, but I will say my neighborhood has been quite an inspiration. I also do quite a bit on tour as well, but I feel like my best work happens around here in Chicago.

Which neighborhood is that?

Chicago

Pilsen. It still feels like "old Chicago". It hasn't changed as much as other areas, and is quite a vivid mash up.

Photography is a good enforcer. It makes you pay attention to the everyday. Just one city block can provide entertainment for hours. Maybe it's a double edged sword though, because eventually it becomes hard to simply be in the world without visualizing it as a photo. That's especially a problem for folks (I'm one too) who find material in their everyday routines. Sometimes I envy studio photographers. They can make their work in one place. Then come home and leave it behind for a while.

I spent some time setting up still life situations to photograph an interesting problem to solve. It's definitely closer to painting than street photography. Lately I've just started taking photos again around here, and being what I'd say is a bit rusty, everything looks new and weird again, pleasant but somewhat awkward.

Are there streets or areas nearby you haven't yet explored with a camera? Or have you seen all of it by now?

I do feel like I’ve seen them all! Well, not really. I like alleys quite a bit in that they’re more similar to each other than say streets are. So alleys always have a sort of neutral appeal to them always nicely unremarkable and it’s likely I’ve seen most of them but who can remember! So they look oddly new all of time. The neighborhood just south of Pilsen is called Bridgeport and it’s really as different from Pilsen as you can get both visually and culturally as well. I actually feel like I work there a bit more lately and it does seem to hold some more surprises for me in a way lately.

Do you compose music in your head while photographing? Or is that a completely separate activity?

Yeah pretty separate, really. I'm usually working on one or the other.

Why did the German photographers become less interesting to you?

I guess last year I saw a pretty major Thomas Struth retrospective in Munich, and I was quite shocked at how flat it felt to me. I really don't like huge prints at all, and the work felt bored, and maybe he wishes he were making paintings? A bit harsh, I guess! But I can't say I'm opposed to all german photography!

The Düsseldorf stuff is pretty controlled.

Yeah, I think my initial attraction to it along with everyone else was that they might not be "photos" in a away, and a very specific "European-ness" to them was quite exotic some how.

It's not really my thing either. But I like some of the related offshoots like, say, Stephen Shore or Baltz.

Yes, Shore would be in my foundations list.

What do you think of his Instagram photos?

Hmm, I really like that he makes them, but I'm not always convinced by them. But somehow that doesn't bother me.

Chicago

What's your take on Instagram in general? Do you value the feedback? Do you learn from it?

I guess I was a bit conflicted when I started and really wasn't all that interested, but it's grown on me gradually. Now that I'm into it I'd say now I've learned a tremendous amount from it and really have found crazy value for my work and the work I've found. I think it's changed my work as well. Before IG I really didn't have much of an outlet, and wasn't all that concerned about it either. But now I just appreciate in a weird way what I've been exposed to and the exposure I think it's afforded me as well.

But it is a real time suck! I am a bit concerned that I'm compelled to post something daily, and fear quite a bit the addiction involved with the "feedback" element.

You've learned a tremendous amount about your own photos? Or about what's out there?

One thing I've caught myself feeling that one photo might be to Instagram focused, an easy shot, and I've been a bit weary of leaning on what I think might work better than another, in an Instagram context. But of course some stuff just works better than others.

Who is someone you've discovered there whose photos have radically opened your eyes or altered your thinking?

Hmm, I wouldn't say radically, but I do have some favorites. @ann.lee, @hitomarunobase, @negativeone2, these are a couple of the top of my head.

@negativeone2, yeah he's extremely unpredictable in a good way. That's Scott that used to live in Portland. Good friend of @faulkner.short. I think he lives in San Antonio now. But his IG feed doesn't really show that. It's all over the place. And time.

Yeah definitely, somehow his work has changed, even though he seems to show a lot of old stuff. But for quite a while I felt we probably just liked the same photographers. But some photos he's gone past that for me.

What do you mean, his work has changed? How so?

When I first started following his work, I must have liked something about it, but it seemed so wildly inconsistent and perhaps that was part of the appeal in a way. But maybe the work hasn’t actually changed as much as I think, but just that he’s gotten much better with the editing. I will say I’m still pretty often surprised by a certain loose almost scattershot way he has with his work but still comes off quite elegantly.

I feel the self imposed Instagram filter you mentioned earlier. After being on there a little while I realize that some photos work better on IG than others. So it's hard for me to impose the type of conscious inconsistency that makes some books work well, or that Scott employs to great effect. Extrapolate that to the general situation and Instagram is probably having some long-term effects on the overall direction of photography. Another double edged sword. Darn, those things are everywhere.

Yes, definitely.

Maybe Spotify and Soundcloud are having a similar effect on music?

Hmm I guess, I actually don't really participate with that stuff any where near to IG. I know it's happening, just hasn't happened to me.

Why do you distribute your photos and music in such different ways? Is it something about the artistic mediums? Or about you?

I make a lot of electronic music that I’ve been thinking about posting on soundcloud / bandcamp , and I’d be interested in the feedback to it and just having it exist beyond my studio. But since I do have a more “traditional” way of getting my music heard via my record label that could be why I’ve been a bit less urgent about getting it out there in a social media sort of way. I’m definitely not opposed to it. I think it’s really just a matter of time and a bit of sorting priorities.

Portland

Do you ever put together shows of your photos? Or maybe have another book planned? Or some other non-IG outlet?

I've had a handful of shows, but for me I think books are the optimal way to deal with photos. I'm always thinking book in the back of my mind, but no plans.

Are there photographers in Chicago you get together with to share work or chat or shoot together? Or is it just you?

Just me. I know a couple of people working, but yeah, I don't feel a part of any "photo community" here. For a while I used a rental darkroom and really enjoyed the general photo banter action.

I think that's another maybe underrecognized aspect to Instagram. It can feel like a community of sorts. Or maybe it can supply community for those folks who don't have it locally.

When I take photos on tour, I find a bit annoying to have other people around! Always having to ask people to move out of the way, etc.

You mean shooting photos with bandmates?

Yeah, band mates. I'm sort of kidding a bit.

I generally like to shot alone, especially in urban scenes. But it's nice each month to hang out with photo buddies and look at pix together.

Yeah, that would be excellent. Archer who's in my band is quite a cheerleader and critic of my work so I'm always eager for his take on things.

Does he take photos?

He does, but it's pretty much in an in passing sort of way.

But he has good feedback?

Years ago he would say he had loftier ambitions for it, I think.

So he dropped photography to do something practical...like join a rock band. Haha.

Well the feedback I'd say wouldn't be perhaps the most hardcore. But we have such a long working history it's valuable.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

GJ: The last book American Winter was done during three week periods during 2017 and 2018. The rest of the years have been spent on smaller ”projects” (sorry, but I hate that word). They usually last for a week or so but I also have some ongoing work that has been running for years. When I return from travels, much more time than the actual shooting is spent on developing, scanning, printing and editing. I’m analog, except for work in preparation for printing. All my books the last 20 years are scanned by me.

How do you decide where to go?

In all kinds of manner. I went to Ulan Bator because I remembered a film scene in a movie by filmmaker Chris Marker. I went to Pontiac, Michigan, because I heard over the radio that it was the first American town to go bankrupt. The Deutschland book was done because my childhood had many German influences and I wanted to learn more about the country.

What catches your eye?

When I start working on a subject I try not to have any predetermined idea of what I will do. The work has to develop as I go along. It usually ends up looking pretty much the same anyway. Thankfully.

How much time do you typically spend with a scene?

That is very different. But I usually doesn’t spend much time in any place. I prefer to work in the countryside, in the small towns, and in an hour you have seen pretty much what there is to see. I rarely wait out a scene for better light or so. I like to work quickly as I go along. There will always be interesting things to photograph.

Do you automatically visualize in black/white?

I guess so. In earlier days I would also bring a camera for color work. But nowadays I find that too distracting. I seldom think that something I photograph would look better in color. However my favorit photographer today is Guido Guidi whose work I rate way above Eggleston and Stepen Shore.

Spread from American Winter

Why did you choose to shoot winter scenes for your recent book?

I suppose I’m a winter photographer. I even went to Antarctica, and that was a great pleasure. I hardly ever photograph in summertime. One source of inspiration came from the movie Fargo, by the Coen brothers. There are some fantastic scenes of snowdrift over endless highways. But film is one thing and still photos are something different. But it was certainly a great experience driving there, even though I didn’t manage to make a great picture of it. I know American landscape photography quite well and I found that most of the pictures were made in pleasant, sunny weather. Not a big surprise but I felt something was missing.

How did you decide which states to visit?

I had many years ago been in Montana, Nebraska, South and North Dakota and Wyoming and I liked the vastness, emptiness and peacefulness. It’s a bit like being alone in an ocean of land.

In an interview you once said "pictures can be different depending on their size and the viewing distance," a statement I agree with. The photos in your books are generally quite small, and the viewing distance is relatively close. What effect do you think that has on your photos?

White Earth, Montana, 2017

I like the idea that you are alone with the picture when you look at it. In an exhibition it is important that you have to walk close up to the image. Print size in exhibitions is 16 x 16,5 cm. I hate exhibitions where you can stand in the middle of the room and think you have seen the whole exhibition. In the book it is a bit different, but all the white space around the image creates a calm space for the ”reading”. The image size in the books is 9 x 9,2 cm which is close to the format you would have in an old family album.

I think it has forced me to be more precise and careful with the structure and composition of the picture. But. strangely, on the other hand many of my pictures look awful if I make a big print. They sort of fall apart.

Your website has note that you've recently eliminated limited editions. All print editions are now open ended. Can you elaborate on your reasons for this step?

I think the whole idea of limited editions is silly and I’m surprised buyers don’t see through this business idea. Today you can buy anything in limited editions. Cars, toasters, or whatever. It’s stupid. Regarding my last books as Special Edition with open edition prints I have not heard one negative complaint and they are selling better than ever. My favorite argument is the fact that the Ansel Adams image Moonrise Hernandez, at a Sotheby’s auction in 2017 sold for $740,000. At the time it was printed in over 1300 copies.

What has been the reaction from collectors?

At times I have made editions just to please a gallery, but my sales are quite irregular so it just becomes too complicated. There are galleries that are OK with open editions so I stick to them. They are the nice guys anyway and people who buy stuff for the numbers on the back can go somewhere else.

Another quote from a past interview: "Digital today looks fine, but everything is possible and the result usually comes out boring." Can you elaborate more on that thought? Do you think a limitation of possibilities can be positive in some way?

American Winter, with open edition gelatin silver print

I just think that a properly made black/white silver gelatin print is something astoundingly beautiful. Film and silver prints are materials you have to work along with. They are materials with characteristics you have to understand and follow. In a similar way that a sculptor chooses wood, bronze or marble. So yes, I want some resistance when I work. There are of course fine digital prints also. But the result of the digital technique often puts a ”haze” of boring perfection over the prints. With digital material everything is possible so if that is your most important goal it is perfect.

You've said that photo titles are important, and sometimes you announce the titles aloud when presenting work. And several of your books are sequenced alphabetically by title. Since most of your photos are titled simply with name of location, a trait which is somewhat uncontrollable, what is their importance to you?

Yes, titles are important to me. They are usually very simple. Just the name of the town or the name of the street where I was standing, not the street I’m depicting. It’s a way of verifying where the picture was made. It is for instance quite easy to find most of the images from Pontiac on Google Earth. Quite often there is a connection between the title and the image content. If you don’t feel to silly about it, I recommend that you read out loud the titles for yourself. You will enjoy it. At one literary evening in Stockholm I showed images from Deutschland and read out the titles. It was enormously popular.

Can you list a few of your primary photographic influences?

First of all I would put Paul Strand. I saw his Blind Woman as a teenager and admired his work, but then he was ”lost” for me during many years. Actually after seeing Time in New England which I didn’t like at all at that time. But he has gradually come back to me. Since a few years back I have his ”Mexican Portfolio”, 20 photogravures, framed on the wall in my studio. It’s the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see when I go to bed. It’s fantastic.

Other photographers I have admired and learned a lot from are Evans, Friedländer, Winogrand, Gossage and Robert Adams. I think the period in the late 60s and 70s is the golden age of photography. But let’s not forget some Europeans, Chris Killip, Graham Smith and Michael Schmidt. And as I mentioned before I think Guido Guidi, whose work bring constant surprises, is outstanding.

What is your understanding of chance or coincidence as it relates to photography?

To me chance and coincidence is everything when I work. I work with am minimum of planning or preparation. Everything comes to me as I work. None of the pictures I have made could I have figured out in advance.

What about as it relates to life in general?

In private life I’m quite well organized and hate surprises.

What do you think your photographs say about you as a person?

Difficult to say but I have a feeling people find me more social than they expect when they just know me from my pictures.